Global Ship Lease and Poseidon Containers merge

What is happening: The non-operating shipowners Global Ship Lease and Poseidon Containers are set to merge.

The deal: The deal is worth $780m. The merged company will control 38 vessels, a capacity of 198,793 TEU and contracted revenue of $528m. Poseidon will become a majority 70% shareholder in GSL.

What did Poseidon shipping executive George Youroukos say: “By combining the strengths of these two highly complementary organisations, GSL will be in a position to achieve significant additional growth and to benefit substantially in a recovering market. The clear disconnect between supportive long-term supply/demand fundamentals and cyclically low asset prices represents a highly compelling opportunity to invest in mid-sized and smaller containerships.

“With a strong balance sheet, reduced leverage, committed growth capital, an established track record of high-quality operations, and a team with extensive US capital markets experience, we believe the enhanced and expanded GSL will be ideally suited to capture opportunities to achieve profitable growth and create long-term value for all stakeholders.”

“Importantly, we will also benefit from the extensive operational and commercial capabilities that George Youroukos has separately established. This includes Technomar, an established, industry leading ship management company with a proven track record of reliability and controlling vessel operating costs, and ConChart, an organisation which will materially enhance our commercial coverage.”